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Thanks to its unique mixture of old-world charm and eclectic creativity, Berlin is a shopper’s paradise. The city becomes a veritable fashion capital during the exquisite fashion shows and events of the biannual Berlin Fashion Week, and trade events like Bread & Butter regularly encourage local and international designers to highlight their work in showrooms and boutiques here. From extravagant designer shopping malls and high-end fashion boutiques to artisan handcraft producers, antique markets, and vintage stores, Berlin has something for everyone.
The city’s history plays an important part in its geography. Because Berlin was divided by the Berlin Wall for so many years, there is no pedestrian zone or single city center like in many other European cities. Instead Berlin has many different areas to explore and pockets of retailers are spread throughout its neighborhoods.
The city’s most glamorous shopping can be done near Mitte’s Friedrichstrasse and in the West Berlin promenade Kurfürstendamm, known as the Shopping Mile and home to the luxurious Kaufhaus des Westens department store, as well as many designer and big name international brands. But the charming side streets around Mitte’s Torstrasse and Hackescher Markt have become a much more popular destination for shopping in the city, with chic designers opening up ateliers and concept shops.
For the fashionable bohemian set, designer labels have less appeal here than elsewhere. You’ll see many of the young and trendy favoring high-end street wear paired with vintage items that appear to have cost not much more than a Brötchen (bread roll). The eastern neighborhoods of Kreuzberg and Neukölln are home to a growing number of vintage and secondhand shops, and the city has a wonderful collection of flea markets that operate year-round. You’ll see modern influences of Berlin’s Bauhaus architecture movement in many of shops, incorporated into the store displays or as part of the home decor items. Near West Berlin’s charming Savignyplatz, the Stilwerk interior design center and surrounding design and home stores on Kantstrasse have become the design hub for the city. For shoppers looking for more price-conscious home furnishings, Neukölln offers several vintage furniture shops featuring Danish and Scandinavian home decor.
Housed in two charming storefronts across the street from each other, this is the go-to place when looking for beautiful paper, notebooks, and other stationery needs. Along with designer parchment, high-end writing tools, and notebooks from Moleskine and others, the store carries international stationery brands, calendars, and other desk accessories.
Products here are inspired by Berlin's facades (pillows), graffiti (etched drinking glasses), and civic symbols (on polo shirts).
The flagship store of German jewelry designer Sabrina Dehoff balances bling and minimalism—bright crystals are paired with chunky metals. There's also a small collection of urban chic clothing.
SOTO is the name of the hip, fashion-forward area of Mitte, south of Torstrasse, filled with charming side streets and numerous fashion boutiques. So, it's appropriate that it's also the name of this boutique where you’ll find a mix of timeless and trendsetting menswear including brands like Norse Projects and Acne Studios grooming products, and accessories ranging from cameras to lanyards.
In the heart of the stunning Gendarmenmarkt, this luxury concept store sells a contemporary collection of new and vintage clothing from high-end designers like Balenciaga and Chloé, as well as cosmetics, home furnishings, and art books. There's also a second store in the west near Kurfürstendamm.
Amsterdam-based record label Staalplaat opened this eccentric sister record store in Neukölln to help satiate the city’s massive music demand, with a specific focus on experimental music and obscure albums. The store also houses a gallery and bookstore where specialty books, handmade fanzines, and limited-edition books and posters are sold.
This hip menswear store mixes pieces from Germany, the United States, France, and Switzerland, including major brands like New Balance and Herschel Supply and lower-key designs including Oregon-based Shwood, organic cotton Nudie Jeans, and Norse Projects.
The five-story Stilwerk houses a variety of upscale shops that all specialize in home furnishings and accessories. The location has helped turn the surrounding neighborhood into Berlin's Design Mile, with numerous interior design and furnishing stores on Kantstrasse and nearby.
This sleek, multilevel concept store showcases a revolving collection of eclectic European and international designers, spanning high fashion, avant-garde labels, street wear, and accessories. Look for interesting limited-edition and capsule collections as well.
On the edge of the Kreuzberg-Neukölln border, this market on Tuesday and Friday is a gathering spot for the local Turkish community, and offers many traditional products, including delicious delicacies (olives, cheese, dried fruits, hummus, and fresh breads) and a bazaar of house goods, including an extensive selection of fabrics.
For a piece of Berlin’s street-style cool, head to this Friedrichshain shop, where you’ll find essentials like caps from The Decades, Herschel bags, and sunglasses from R.T.C.O. The store also stocks a small collection of women’s accessories and clothes.
A curated concept store with two locations in Berlin, Victoria met Albert offers products for men, women, and children. A mix of home goods and fashion, the shop sells a variety in that unique Berlin aesthetic—at once practical, but überhip. There's a second store in Prenzlauer Berg in Helmholtzplatz.
In the homey setting of Wohnart Berlin you can imagine how the stylish European furnishings, lamps, housewares, or stationery items might suit your own pad.
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